


Iron Fury

by Jake_Matthews



Series: Avengers One Shots [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Fury Has Trust Issues, Hurt Steve Rogers, M/M, Rare Pairings, Tony Stark is an Asshole
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-07
Updated: 2014-12-07
Packaged: 2018-04-25 15:14:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4965832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jake_Matthews/pseuds/Jake_Matthews
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Nick Fury returns to Stark Tower to see his boyfriend, he is furious to find that once again, Tony has cheated on him, breaking Captain America's heart for the umpteenth time in the process.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Iron Fury

The Quinjet had barely touched the landing pad when Nick Fury stepped out of the hatch and told them to be on their way. He planned on leaving Stark Tower through the front door, and that wouldn't be for a while, if things went to plan. He strode through the door with his usual confidence, then faltered upon seeing what was inside.

Steve Rogers was sat on the couch, head in his hands, wearing nothing but a pair of loose trousers. His blonde hair was severely ruffled, and it sounded like he was crying. Fury silently debated whether or not he should announce his presence. Then the super-soldier looked up, wiping his eyes. They were red and swollen.

"Director Fury." His voice was thick from crying. He sniffed loudly, then continued, "I assume you're here for St-Stark? He's down in his lab." Fresh tears leaked out from his eyes at the mention of Stark. He brushed them away, trying desperately to pull himself together.

"Captain Rogers..."

"I promised myself I wouldn't end up here again... That I wouldn't let him in again... It always ends the same way, I know that... I just... I'm so stupid..." He broke down again, burying his head in his hands once more.

"Captain, this isn't your fault." Fury was still quite close to the door, reluctant to approach. He didn't do comforting. "Stark should know better than this. He shouldn't-"

" _I_ should know better than this! Do you have any idea how many times I've been here?! Do you even know-"

"I'm well aware of how often Mr Stark has left you like this. And I know that it is not your fault. Stark was once told he was not suitable for the Avengers Initiative, and this is exactly why. He acts without considering the impact on those around him, doesn't consider their feelings..." Fury paused, considering the options, before deciding on a course of action. "Wash your face and get dressed, Captain Rogers, then go jogging. Get outside and clear your mind. Sort yourself out. I will deal with Stark." There was a finality to his tone that told Steve not to argue, so he stood shakily and headed to the nearest bathroom. Fury stayed where he was until Steve re-emerged, fully dressed, and headed for the elevator. Steve stepped in, and as the doors closed, he looked back at Fury and nodded his thanks.

Only when the elevator doors were completely closed and the elevator descending did Fury move further into the room. He began to turn his thoughts to the reason he had come to Stark Tower, but he knew he couldn't move on to that without first addressing the situation with Steve. He sighed, then said, "JARVIS, does Tony know I'm here yet?"

"I have not notified him yet. He requested that I not disturb him until Captain Rogers had left, unless there was an emergency. Shall I inform him now?"

"Yes, and tell him I want him to get his ass up here right now."

"Of course, Director Fury."

Down in the lab, Tony was making some adjustments to his latest suit when JARVIS informed him, "Sir, Director Fury is upstairs, and requests that you 'get your ass up there right now'." Tony shook his head, smiling.

"Tell him I'm on my way," he said, carefully placing his work on the bench. He got to his feet and stretched. He'd been down there all night, having been unable to sleep, even after... shit.

"JARVIS, has Steve left? Does Fury know...?"

"Captain Rogers has just left. Director Fury is aware that he was here." _Shit._ Tony was in trouble, and he knew it. He sighed, and walked into the elevator, preparing himself for Fury's wrath.

When the elevator doors opened, Fury was stood a few feet in front of Tony, arms folded, a stern expression on his face. Tony swallowed. This wasn't going to be good.

"Captain Rogers was here." Fury stated, glaring at Tony. Tony just nodded, biting his lip and not meeting Fury's eye. Fury continued glaring and went on, "You know better than this, Stark. You know how Steve feels about you, and yet you continue to lead him on-"

"I'm not leading him on! He knows that I don't want a relationship, that I'm just looking for a good fuck! He understands what he's getting into, every time, it's not my fault if he can't handle it in the morning!"

"STARK!" Tony's mouth had been open to continue his defence, but it snapped shut at Fury's shout. He chanced a glance at that face, looking up to see the Director's death glare, which had become so familiar to him over the past few months. He tore his gaze away as quickly as he could, knowing it wouldn't do to get lost in that beautiful brown eye, not when Fury was so mad at him for his treatment of his teammate. "Stark, you know full well that every time you ask Steve back here, every time you have him in your bed, or you go to his place and go to his bed, _every goddamn time_ that you do this, you're giving him hope. And then you take it away again and break his heart all over again in the morning when he wakes up and you're gone. _You know this, Stark!_ And yet you do it anyway!" Tony chanced another glance at Fury, noting the change in his tone, hearing the exasperation and needing to see it. He had moved now, no longer were his arms folded, he wasn't staring at Tony anymore. He had one hand on his head, and was turned away slightly, looking at the floor. Fury continued, quieter, "I just don't understand why you have to keep doing this Tony..." Those words hit him hard, like being Hulk-smashed into Mjolnir chest-first. Without the suit. Fury rarely show his caring, vulnerable side - most people didn't believe it even existed it was so seldom seen.

"I'm sorry, Nick... I'm just... I'm not cut out for committed relationships, you know that... Steve's good in bed, and you're right, I do know that I shouldn't keep doing this to him, but sometimes I can't help it... I didn't know when you'd be back again, and I know that's no excuse for doing this to him again, but I missed you and I needed someone, and I can always count on Steve to come when I call and I shouldn't take advantage of his feelings like this, but I do and I hate myself for it, and I just... I'm so sorry, Nick... I'll call Steve and apologise, and I will try to not do this again, I promise... I'll do anything, just please, don't... don't leave me Nick, I need you..." Tony had stepped closer to Fury, moving his face into Fury's eye-line to show how sorry he felt, and he reached out, cautiously taking Fury's hand in his. He looked into that face, that beautiful face he'd fallen so completely, and terrifyingly, in love with. His eyes were begging for Fury's forgiveness, terrified that he might have done it this time, might have gone too far and screwed things up for good.

Fury looked into Tony's eyes, frowning slightly. He saw the plea in Tony's eyes, saw his fear of losing Nick... Fury shook his head, backing away. He gently pulled his hand from Tony's grasp, and Tony's eyes widened in fear as he watched his lover retreat. Tony stumbled, falling to his knees, and Fury's next words hurt worse than the time the arc reactor was stolen from his chest.

"No, Tony... You can make all the promises you want, but I can never trust you not to keep doing this. The only thing I can trust you to be is untrustworthy... I thought, coupled with my trust issues, that would allow this to work... I guess I was wrong. I can't stay with a man who treats his teammates - his _friends_ \- the way you treat Steve... We're done, Tony. I'm sorry." He pushed past Tony, walking to the elevator behind the sobbing billionaire. Tony remained frozen in position, on his knees on the carpet, tears streaming down his face and silent sobs shaking his body. Dimly he heard the sound of the elevator doors closing, and he snapped out of it, staggering to his feet and throwing himself at the door, jabbing the button next to it frantically, but he knew Nick was already gone. He turned round again, placing his back against the closed doors and slid down to the floor.

He sat there, sobbing, for a few minutes before he eventually wiped his eyes and sniffed loudly. "JARVIS?" His voice was thick from crying, but he sniffed again and continued, "JARVIS, can you call Steve? I need to talk to him."

"Sir, given your current state, perhaps it would be better not to -"

"Shut up and call him!" Tony shouted, his voice cracking. He forced himself to stumble over to the table grab some tissues to wipe his face properly. JARVIS began trying to call Steve. Tony listened to the dial tone and muttered to himself, "C'mon, pick it up, Capsicle, pick up the phone..." Moments before he was going to give up Steve picked up the phone. His voice rang out in the room.

"What do you want, Tony?" He sounded pretty mad. Tony swallowed, hoping Steve's anger wouldn't cause him to hang up without hearing Tony out.

"I just... I'm sorry, about... about last night... I shouldn't have... I know you want a relationship, and I know that's not something I'm able to give you... I shouldn't keep taking advantage of how you feel about me to get laid... It's not fair on you... and it's not very good for me either..." He trailed off, taking a few deep breaths to try and hold back the tears he could feel building up.

"Tony, have you been crying?" Steve's tone changed quickly to one of concern. Tony tried to reassure him that he was alright, but the words caught in his throat. "Tony - Tone, what's wrong?" Steve was very worried now, hearing the choking sobs as Tony tried to force words out.

"I'm - I'm fine... I - I'm so... s-s-sorry, St-Steve..." He was trying so hard to pull himself together. He began to hyperventilate as he sobbed. He heard Steve trying to talk to him, trying to calm him down, but none of the words were going in. Until -

"Alright, I'm coming over Tony, you sound like you need a friend right now..." Tony's head snapped up, this was exactly what he didn't want to happen. What JARVIS had tried to warn him about. If Steve came over...

"NO! Steve, don't... I-I'm fine, you don't... pl-please don't... you should *hic* stay away..." He sniffed, and pushed himself up, staggering towards the panel on the wall from which he could hang up the phone call.

"Tony, you're not fine, you-" Steve's voice cut out as Tony hung up. He collapsed by the wall, placed his head in his hands, and broke down. A small part of his brain registered JARVIS saying something, but he didn't care. Nothing mattered anymore, because Fury had left him. And it was his fault. Tony had allowed himself to become vulnerable by falling in love with Nick, and the realisation of that had scared him so much that he had hooked up with Steve. He had slept with Steve because he was scared that Fury might hurt him, and in doing so had hurt Fury, which had led Fury to leave him. To hurt him. It had never occurred to him that Fury had let himself get vulnerable too. Tony felt so stupid. This was all his stupid fault. There was a reason he didn't fall in love, and this was it. When he loved people, he got hurt, and that sucked. A small voice at the back of his head suggested that it would hurt less if he got drunk.

Tony shook his head, trying to clear it of the poisonous voice that told him to drink. But right now he didn't have the strength to get himself a drink anyway.

"JARVIS, lock the drinks cabinet," he said thickly, cutting off whatever the AI had been trying to tell him. "Lock it, and don't let me unlock it until I've got my emotions sorted out and I won't just drink myself into oblivion."

"Noted, Sir. As I was saying, Director Fury and Captain Rogers are in the lobby, and-"

"WHAT!" Tony pulled himself up, shocked. "Nick's here? But he left... What's he doing back?"

"Currently, he is arguing with Captain Rogers. It seems the Captain ignored your instruction to 'stay away', and returned to make sure you were alright. Director Fury saw him returning and came into the lobby shortly after to confront him about why he was back. Captain Rogers explained that you had called him up, and Director Fury began to get very angry."

"Oh, shit." Tony blinked a few times, tears still blurring his vision, then began to stagger over to the elevator. JARVIS opened the doors as he approached, but protested slightly at his actions.

"Sir, it might not be a good idea-"

"Shut up and take me to the lobby!" Tony shouted his interruption, not caring what the AI had to say. He needed to see Nick, explain to him, maybe he could win him back. The doors closed and the elevator began to descend.

\- - - -

In the lobby, Steve was feeling very confused. Earlier, Director Fury had seemed so supportive towards Steve, he had been understanding of his feelings towards Tony and very insistent that the way Tony treated him wasn't his fault. He'd left, on Fury's recommendation, to jog and clear his head. Fury had stayed behind to talk to Tony, which apparently hadn't taken long considering how little time had passed between Steve leaving and Tony ringing. He didn't understand why Tony had called, but based on how he'd sounded, Steve knew something must have happened to hurt him pretty bad. And now Fury had followed him back into the building and was absolutely furious about something. He was shouting at Steve for going back to Tony so quickly, just one phone call was all it had taken to get him back. Steve was unable to explain to Fury just how distraught poor Tony had sounded on the phone, and how he'd been apologising for his treatment of Steve, which was a lot more than he'd ever done before.

There were other people in the lobby, people who worked in Stark Tower, and they were all staring at the argument. They didn't even look away when the elevator pinged and the doors slid open. Steve looked up though, and what he saw shocked him.

Tony's eyes were puffy and red. Tears were still welling up in his eyes and spilling down his cheeks. He seemed unable to stand properly; he was holding himself up with the hand rail in the elevator. His hair was all over the place, and his clothes looked very scruffy, with his tears having soaked into them and him having thrown himself about. He looked around bleary-eyed.

"Oh my God..." was all Steve could say, staring at the emotional wreck that Tony had become. Nick saw his shock and turned, cutting off his yells. The spectators all turned too, and in the silence that followed, Fury became aware of the audience for the first time.

It took Tony a moment to locate Fury, despite him being the most prominent figure in the room. There were just too many tears in Tony's eyes. But when he had located Fury, he pushed himself away from the elevator and began stumbling towards Nick, trying to say his name.

Steve and Fury exchanged a rather alarmed glance, then as one they walked over to Tony, who had collapsed on the floor halfway to Fury, and picked him up. They carried him back to the elevator, and once they were in Fury instructed JARVIS to take them back upstairs.

Tony was mumbling incoherently, pawing at Fury's front. Steve looked at him curiously as the elevator doors closed.

"I take it you came back because of this?" Fury asked, gesturing at Tony's sobbing form. Steve nodded.

"I didn't realise quite how bad a state he was in, though. He called me up and was trying to apologise for how he treated me. I could hear that he was crying pretty hard, so I tried to comfort him over the phone, and then decided that it would be better if I came back here to see how he was. He tried to protest, but I ignored him. Do you know what happened to him?" Fury pulled a strange face at this, not sure if he really wanted to share that information with Steve. He looked at the Captain and realised that he already had suspicions, he was just giving Fury the opportunity to keep it to himself.

"I broke up with him," Fury sighed. Tony let out a choked sob at the reminder. A pained expression crossed Fury's face. It pained him to hurt Tony like this. Steve looked at him, frowning slightly.

"Because of me?" Fury was surprised at Steve's lack of a reaction to the idea there had been a relationship to break up.

"I know I can't trust Tony to be faithful all the time, but... The way he treats you is despicable, and he said earlier that he'd apologise and promised that he'd try not to do it again, but I can't trust that promise..."

"He did apologise. Must've been not long after you left he phoned me up to apologise for treating me the way he does. And I didn't listen, but he did tell me to stay away. And just look at him, Nick! He clearly feels bad about what he did, and he wants to make it better. He wants to be better... for you." Nick smiled slightly, looking down at Tony. The elevator arrived at Tony's sitting room, and Steve helped Nick take Tony through and place him on the couch. Nick sat on the arm and gently stroked Tony's hair. Steve looked around, expecting to see empty bottles lying around.

"JARVIS, has Tony been drinking at all?" he asked, surprised by the absence of any bottles.

"Mr Stark requested I lock the alcohol away and not allow him to open it until he was more emotionally stable." Steve and Fury looked at each other in surprise. Tony always drank. Asking JARVIS to keep him away from the drink...

"He's really serious about not messing up again isn't he?" Fury murmured quietly, seeing that Tony was asleep and not wanting to wake him. Steve smiled at him.

"He obviously loves you a lot, Nick. I got the impression from him last night that he was scared of getting hurt by someone he loves... That was why he needed me last night, and I shouldn't have given in to him. I know that, and that's why I was so hard on myself this morning. I was scared I'd just ruined something that could have made him very happy. I never thought it'd be you he was with though..."

"Yeah, I know what you mean... We don't exactly seem like a good match... But are you saying that Tony slept with you last night because he was scared I would hurt him?" Steve nodded, and a small smile danced across Fury's face. "He was scared of being hurt..." He paused briefly, thinking. "Steve? I can trust you to keep a promise, right?"

"What do you want me to do?"

"Help Tony keep his promise... Don't give in to him if he does try to get you into bed again, discourage him from treating anyone else the way he treated you... Maybe you could comfort him when he gets insecure about our relationship... He promised me he would try, and I hope he will, but will you help him?"

"Of course. I promise, I will do whatever I can to help Tony stay faithful to you." Nick smiled, and looked down at Tony's sleeping form. Steve continued, "I'll leave now, give you time alone with him." Nick nodded, unable to tear his eye from the beautiful genius sleeping beside him. He heard the sound of the elevator leaving with Steve, then sat in silence watching Tony sleep. God, he loved this man.


End file.
